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DON BRENNAN, QMI Agency

Dec 1, 2011

, Last Updated: 11:24 PM ET

DALLAS - Nick Foligno risked cutting his own throat — in more ways than one — when he shaved Thursday morning.

After picking up just three points in a dozen games during October, he had a very productive Momember. A more superstitious player would have believed getting rid of his moustache would have changed his good fortune. But like most of his teammates, Foligno removed the growth on his upper lip when the calendar flipped a page.

How good was the 24-year-old’s month?

Well, since you asked, Foligno led the Senators in scoring with 11 points, on five goals and six assists, in 12 November games. Erik Karlsson was next with nine points (0-9), followed by Zack Smith (5-3), Jason Spezza (3-5) and Sergei Gonchar (2-6).

Foligno, who has recently been switched from left wing to centre on a line with Milan Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson, didn’t realize he was the offensive leader on a team that had a decent 5-5-2 record in the season’s second month.

“I knew things were going well,” Foligno said before Thursday’s game in Dallas, “but you look around, and Spezz is having a good year, Erik’s having a good year, Milan, Alfie ...”

Listening to the conversation, Alfredsson chimed in.

“I’m not having a good year,” he said.

“Well, you’re going to have a good December,” said Foligno, whose personal success has come primarily because of a vow to get to the net more. “It’s nice to be able to do that for the team. It’s nice to contribute. Things are going well. You just want to keep them going well.”

A few minutes later, coach Paul MacLean was asked which of his players grew the most impressive ‘stache in November.

“It wouldn’t be fair to pick one ... they’re all pretty lackluster,” he quipped. “I’d have to give Erik Karlsson at least an ‘A’ for effort.”

And maybe a warm cloth to wash his off.

MacLean, of course, has the busiest upper lip on the team. But then, he’s had about a 35-year head start on the rest of them.

“Everyone gave it their best grow, and at the end of the day the coach won,” said Zenon Konopka, who might have been the runner-up. “Second place is the first loser in my books. I’m not looking for any charity here. I was looking to win. We just got out-manned.”

Wonder if he realized the pun?

Anyway, Alfredsson’s moustache is alive and well and looking bigger than ever, now that he’s trimmed off the rest of his facial hair.

“My brother and I are keeping them until Christmas, until my dad comes over,” said the captain. “He’s got a big ‘stache. We’re going to have a good Christmas photo, I think.”

And maybe, with the help of the ’stache, he’ll have a Foligno-type December.

STARTS AND STOPS

Spezza and Stars winger Steve Ott were linemates in junior hockey. “He’s come a long way since his little chubby days back with the Windsor Spitfires,” said Ott. “He’s become a real professional, obviously. What a player, what a tremendous talent.” ... Spezza, a big Dallas Cowboys fan, visited Cowboys Stadium for a TV bit with Sportsnet’s Ian Mendes at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, after arriving from Winnipeg only a few hours earlier. Spezza didn’t have too much trouble getting up, admitting that it felt a little like Christmas morning for him. “Walking on to the field, standing at the star, seeing how big the place is,” he said of the highlights, failing to mention that he jumped high enough to very nearly be able to dunk a ball over the goal posts’ crossbar. “I want to still go to a game there too, at one point. It’s one of the things on my list I’d like to cross off. Probably never another chance to see the dressing room again. It was pretty cool.”

STUFF I THINK I THUNK

Dallas’ Eric Nystrom first met Sportnet’s Denis Potvin when he was a kid, as his dad Bob was an Islanders teammate of the Hall of Fame defenceman. The two were re-acquainted in the Stars room after the morning skate. “He came in and said, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ ” said Nystrom. “I said to (teammate) Toby (Peterson), ‘Do you even know who that is?’ He’s like, ‘No, man.’ I said, ‘That’s Denis Potvin, man. He’s a legend.’ Guys have no idea how good he was. One of the best ever. We’re talking ‘80 Isles, eh?” ... Nystrom’s favourite player back then was Pierre Turgeon. “That was my prime Islander fan fanatic period,” he said. “That was when Turgeon got knocked out by Dale Hunter in the playoffs. (And Hunter was suspended 21 games.) I actually met him one time and said, ‘Hey Dale, I was at that game when you buried Turgeon.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, I didn’t see him.’ ” A pause, then seconds later Nystrom added: “S---, Denis Potvin. That guy is legit!”

BETWEEN PERIODS

Forgot my AAC media pass in my bag, in the bottom of the bus. Didn’t want to go to the trouble of getting it. Asked a Senators team official if he had an extra. He did, with Jason York’s name on it. The Sportsnet analyst didn’t do the Dallas leg of this trip. “Can I use his?” yours truly inquired. “Sure,” I was told. “But it’ll cost ya a Grande Bold.” That’s fair. “Deal,” I said. Sportsnet’s Mendes didn’t miss a beat. “Once again,” he said, “Jason York gets traded for a cup of coffee.”

DID YOU GO HMMM ...?

It was Mike Ribeiro Bobblehead Night at the AAC, and judging by the size of the crowd each fan could have gone home with a big bag full. “I’m anxious to see what I look like,” the Stars centre said early in the day. “Hope it’s a good-looking one.” ... The game was just the third time Brian Lee and David Rundblad have been in the lineup together this season. The Senators gave up seven goals in each of the other two, both losses ... Ex-Hull Olympiques wigner Michael Ryder is thriving as a first-liner in Dallas after winning the Cup in Boston. He admitted there was an adjustment to be made after signing with the Stars. “The weather is a little different,” he said. “At first when I got here, it was freakin’ scorching. Little chillier now. Hopefully we can start getting more fans in the stands. Hopefully with a new owner now, things are going in the right direction.” ... Mostly because of their speed and youth, the Senators remind Dallas star Glen Gulutzan of a certain Western Conference team. “They are very scary,” he said before the game. “They’re like the young Oilers, you have to make sure you’re physical and disciplined against them. They’re a real excellent team that’s on the verge.” ... Stars backup goalie Richard Bachman is no relation to Randy, of Bachman-Turner-Overdrive fame. “I’ve got the Stephen King’s pen name: Richard Bachman,” he said. “Those are the two I get a lot.”

KONOPKA KORNER

Konopka: “I would like to know our record when we’re on the road and we don’t have to go home right after the game. We’ve got a pretty good record.”

Cheaps: “It’s 4-1 going into (the Dallas) game. Why is it so good?”

Konopka: “I don’t know why. Maybe we don’t want to go home. I’m just bringing it up. Maybe we should just keep going, rotating it around. Home games are okay. It’s just when the party’s coming to an end ... maybe we should just keep travelling around. Alf, what do you think?”